My blog is focused primarily on the Theory of Constraints and how to use it to maximize the profitability of any company. I also discuss why integrating TOC with Lean and Six Sigma is the most dynamic improvement methodology available today.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

I just finished reading a post by a good friend of mine, Mike Hannan. I was so impressed by Mike's message that I wanted to share it with you. Actually, it's a link to what I just read. I've known Mike for some time now and I can tell you that he is one of the best at planning and executing projects via his method for project management. I encourage you to check out this link. Mike owns and operates Fortezza Consulting and does fantastic work....plus he gives back as you will see when you read his posting.

For those of you wondering why I haven't been posting on a regular basis, it's because Bruce Nelson and I are busy with a new publisher. Actually it's not a new publisher for me, because it's the same one who published my first two books. Bruce and I felt compelled to change publishers because we had offers from people in China, India, France and Spain to have Epiphanized translated, but our Epiphanized publisher never acted on them. Our new publisher is going to re-publish Epiphanized as a 2nd edition and then several months later will publish our sequel which we've already written. The sequel will have the four main characters at work again, but not in manufacturing. This time they will work their magic in Healthcare and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul.

If you haven't read our first edition of Epiphanized, and you'd like to, send me an email to ras8202@live.com and I'll send you a FREE PDF version of it.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

I wanted to share a link to Mark Woeppel's blog where he makes an offer to download a short e-book on Project Management. In this posting he talks about why project succeed or fail. I think you'll enjoy it. Mark is the CEO of Pinnacle Strategies, a highly respected consulting firm.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you probably have wondered why I haven't posted much in the past several weeks. Part of the reason was that I was visiting family over the holidays, but the primary reason is that Bruce Nelson and I have been working feverishly on a couple of books. Some posts back, I told you that Bruce and I had commissioned a new publisher to publish our sequel to Epiphanized - Integrating the Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma. What our new publisher (which by the way is the publisher of my first two books) wants to do is first, publish a second edition of Epiphanized before publishing its sequel. Bruce and I have been busy updating Epiphanized, adding new information and materials. We've also been editing the sequel which uses the same cast of characters in two new environments, Healthcare and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul in an aviation environment. We're both very excited about the new book.

I will begin posting regularly again very soon, but in the meantime I ask for your patience and understanding. Thanks everyone.
Bob Sproull

Thursday, January 1, 2015

A couple of posts ago I told you about a new book by a friend of mine, Clarke Ching, entitled Rolling Rocks Downhill. I explained that it's Clarke's business novel about accelerating Agile projects using TOC. I also told you that Rolling Rocks Downhill happens in a world where Agile doesn't yet exist. The hero discovers Agile's first principles, from scratch, by learning how TOC and Lean have been applied to a commercial kitchen. He learns about small batches and bottlenecks. His inspiration comes from TOC's retail solution and his solution is inspired by a practice used by journalists.

I just finished reading Clarke's new book and I have to tell you that I really enjoyed it. I was expecting another book on Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), but to my surprise, it was more about combining the Theory of Constraints (TOC) with Lean and Agile. At any rate, I'm using this post to recommend the book to all of my readers, but especially to those readers who are engaged in the business of software development. Clarke will give you a different way of bringing your projects home faster and with better quality. So here's Clarke's purchasing details. I just want to finish by telling Clarke publically what a wonderful job he did with this book!Here's a note from Clarke:

I've got special 80%-off "launch" pricing on them at the moment, but if folks would rather take a "try before you buy" approach then they can pop over to my website (rolls.rocks), sign up for the newsletter, and then on January 1st, I'll send the first half, as a pdf, for free. No harm in saving a couple of dollars.

About Me

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt - TOC Jonah - author of three books: Epiphanized: Integrating Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma - The Ultimate Improvement Cycle - Maximizing Profits Through the Integration of Lean, Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints, Process Problem Solving - A Guide for Maintenance and Operation's Teams - New book, Epiphanized has beeen released in January 2012.